admin
US officials were quoted saying that the rewards which were announced yesterday on the US State Department’s “Rewards for Justice” website have opened a new front in the battle against al Shabaab and signalled Washington’s determination to press on with the fight against terrorism across Africa.
“This is the first time we’ve had key leaders of al Shabaab as part of the Rewards for Justice programme. Every time we add someone to the Rewards for Justice site, that is a signal that the US government is sending that it takes the fight against terrorism very seriously. We are confident that we will receive information pertaining to these seven,” said Robert Hartung Saidan, assistant director at the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security, which administers the programme..
The “Rewards for Justice” by the US government for the first time puts bounties on the heads of al Shabaab leaders including a reward of up to $7 million (Sh595 million) for information on the whereabouts of the group’s founder and overall commander Ahmed Abdiaw-Mohamed.
Other bounties of $5 million (Sh425 million) each have been offered for information leading to the whereabouts of al Shabaab co-founder, Ibrahim Haji Jama, group financier Fuad Mohamed Khalaf, military commander Bashir Mohamed Mahamoud and Mukhtar Robow, who often serves as the group’s spokesman.
The US government has also offered to pay rewards of up to $3 million (Sh255 million) for information on the whereabouts of intelligence chief Sheikh Hassan “Turki” Abdullahi Hersi (Zakariya Ismail Ahmed Hersi), and Abdullahi Yare, another senior al Shabaab leader.
Counter terrorism analysts said the new rewards could boost pressure on al Shabaab as it faces a three-pronged offensive by Kenyan troops in the south, Ethiopian troops in central Somalia and an African Union force near the capital, Mogadishu.
“The large rewards haven’t had an impact in bringing the top guys to justice, but these notices are important to help define the enemy and informing people about who we believe to be the top-level threats,” said Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies and editor of its “Long War Journal” on counter-terrorism efforts.
“Al Shabaab is starting to show some signs of fatigue and fissures that are going to hinder the group. Putting these individuals on Rewards for Justice at this juncture is another thing which might encourage the demise of al Shabaab. We are at a tipping point here,” said Rick “Ozzie” Nelson, a senior security analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
In 2008 the US government added al Shabaab to its list of foreign terrorist organisations and imposed financial and other restrictions on the group that had seized control of large areas of south and central Somalia seeking to impose its strict version of Islam on the impoverished country. The United Nations Security Council also censured several Somalia nationals who were accused of being financiers of the insurgent group. Kenya’s Central Bank then wrote to all banks and financial institutions in the country and warned them not to engage in business with the named people.
The announcement is a confirmation that the United States government which was earlier shy to join the fight against al Shabaab in Somalia has joined international community to bolster efforts to restore peace to Somalia. — the-star.co.ke.
Online Reporter